PITTSBURGH -- An hour or so before his teammates would hit the ice for their morning skate ahead of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals, the only sound in an empty PPG Paints Arena was that of Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Trevor Daley's skates digging into the ice as he pushed himself while recovering from a lower-body injury that has sidelined him since Game 5 of the second round.
It wasn't the first time he had skated on his own, and on Tuesday before boarding a plane for Ottawa, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said Daley was progressing and getting closer to joining his teammates for practice, the next step in his recovery.